A Funeral Support Payment can help cover funeral costs for people who need to pay for a funeral and who live in Scotland and receive certain benefits. You don't have to pay back a Funeral Support Payment.

It can be used for funerals for adults and children, including stillborn children who died after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you may be able to apply for a Funeral Payment instead.
 

You can only get a Funeral Support Payment if you live in Scotland.

The person who has died must have lived in the UK and the funeral must be being held in the UK (there are some exceptions if the funeral is in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland).

What should be your relationship to the person who has died?

You or your partner must be responsible for paying for the funeral and it must be reasonable for you or your partner to pay for the funeral.

Whether it is reasonable for you or your partner to pay for the funeral depends on your relationship to the person who has died.

If the person who has died was an adult, you should be one of the following:

• Husband, wife or civil partner
• Unmarried partner who lived with the person who has died
• Child
• Parent
• Sister or brother
• Grandparent
• Grandchild
• Aunt or uncle
• Cousin
• Niece or nephew
• Long-standing friend.

If the person who has died was a child, you should be one of the following:

• Parent or person with parental responsibility
• Adult sister or brother
• Grandparent
• Aunt or uncle
• Cousin
• Niece or nephew
• A long-standing friend.

These lists are in order of priority, so usually if there is someone higher up the list who might be expected to pay for the funeral, it won’t be considered reasonable for you to pay for the funeral.

A half-sister or half-brother is treated the same as a sister or brother.

A stepchild is treated the same as a child.

There is some space for flexibility where it wouldn't have been reasonable for a closer relative to pay for the funeral, for example if they were estranged from the person who died or if they live too far away to be able to take responsibility for the funeral.

Example

For example, Peter has just died aged 68. He lived with his girlfriend Mary and has two adult sons Chris and Jack. Because Peter lived with Mary, it would be considered reasonable for her to pay for the funeral. It wouldn’t be considered reasonable for Chris or Jack to pay for the funeral.

Which benefits must you be getting?

To be entitled to a Funeral Support Payment, you need to be claiming one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit with a disabled worker or severe disability element
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Housing Benefit

You can’t claim a Funeral Support Payment if you have already had help with the funeral costs through a Funeral Payment administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Reviewed: February 2023
 

Funeral Support Payment comes in two parts:

• An amount for the necessary expenses for the funeral. This includes things like:

  • Burial plot

  • Cremation/burial fees

  • Medical costs for certain medical procedures needed before the funeral can go ahead. For example, if a pacemaker needs to be removed before the person who died can be cremated. The fixed amount you can get for medical costs is £23.75.

  • Transporting the body (only for journeys over 49.7 miles)

  • Return journey for the person making arrangements for the funeral.

• A payment towards any other funeral expenses. This is £1,178.75 or £143.85 if the person who has died had a pre-paid funeral plan. 

If the person who has died left any assets that could be used to pay for the funeral, there will be a deduction from the Funeral Support Payment. This is because the funeral is expected to be paid for out of their assets first. This is also the case if they had a pre-paid funeral plan or if they were entitled to a funeral grant through a war disablement pension.

Updated: April 2023

You have to claim within six months after the funeral. You can’t claim before the person has died.

You can claim a Funeral Support Payment:

• Online on the mygov.scot website
• By phone: 0800 182 2222
• By post by downloading a Funeral Support Payment application form from the mygov.scot website

The Funeral Support Payment can be paid either to you or to the funeral director.